Friday, November 27, 2009

Thanksgiving was very pleasant as we had roasted turkey breast, mashed potato's, sweet peas and pumpkin pie. The turkey was juicy and tender having baked for 6 hours at 250 degrees in our toaster oven. Left over turkey will be served with steam fried potato’s tonight along with the last of the pumpkin pie.

Today we went to town and got groceries for the next seven days. Snow is in the forecast for Saturday through Monday night and we don’t want to get out in that kind of weather. We took advantage of the sales prices and were able to get all we needed for $38.43. This means we will end the month below our budget again.

One of our shopping secrets to saving money is to stop off at one of our local Dollar Stores. We buy things like coffee, cereals, and some can goods that are at least 20 cents cheaper than at other stores. We always make a list of needed items before we leave home. If it’s not on the list we don’t buy it. This cuts down on impulse shopping.

One of our favorite stores to shop at is S & S Super Market. We have a link to there sales flyer on our side bar. We always check to see what’s on sale before we head out to shop.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Getting ready for cold weather entails making sure your black water tank, gray water and fresh water inlet are protected from freezing.

Our RV has a compartment that is quite small however we did find a way to keep the temperature above freezing without placing so much heat in the area that would cause the holding tanks to melt. We used a small shop light with a 40 watt bulb. If the temperature drops below the heating effect of the 40 watt bulb we can replace it with a 60 watt or even larger watt bulb.

We also placed a thermometer in the bay so we can keep track of how well our heating bulb is doing. Next we wrapped our water line with low a wattage heat tape, placed insulation around the line and tapped over the insulation.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Are you considering changing your life style to become a full time RV dweller? There are many ideas about the RV life styles. Some have the desire to travel from place to place site seeing the country. Some have the desire to stay in one place long term. Then there are some that are drawn to the idea of the option to come and go as they please.

RV’s come in many shapes and sizes, tow trailers, 5th wheel trailers, motor homes, vans and so forth. Each has their own degree of comfort and amenities. This also holds true to the many different kinds of RV Parks and campgrounds that are dotted throughout the country, be it the United States, Canada or Mexico.

An RV regardless of it’s type or size has limited living space as well as limited storage areas. This brings to mind the pioneer days that our countries were built from. Small one room dwellings to escape the elements. Is that the real factor that draws us to downsize our home environment. Sort of roughing it one might think.

Although living full time in an RV seems simplistic it by no means is less difficult than what may be left behind. Adjustments must be made as to how you once managed your living. This may include your cooking habits, shopping habits, and entertaining friends and family.

For some people once the idea of living full time in an RV strikes them they jump right in. For others it may take years of planning before making the life change. Some even resort to renting an RV to try out the life style first. Each person has their own period of adjusting to the idea for such a life change.

For us the desire to live full time in an RV started out as a dream. A dream of exploring all the areas of the United States that we have so long wanted to visit. Through chains of events we were forced into our full time RV living in order to survive within our income range. Having the idea of living in an RV already planted in our minds helped us to adapt to this life style change with more ease. At the time we had two options, either move into an apartment or purchase an RV and move into it. We chose the RV and are enjoying it more than we could have imagined.